A hand-operated cable winch, sometimes referred to as a “come-along”, has a handle with a pawl thereon which, when rotated in a drawing direction, will rotate a toothed gear connected to a cable winding drum, thereby to draw cable around the drum and toward the winch. In typical usage, the winch is fastened to one item, the cable is released and drawn to a distant point where it is attached to another item. One of the items may be an anchor (some immovable object) or both items might be movable. The handle is reciprocated, driving the cable winding drum, and drawing the cable toward the winch, until the desired effect is achieved.
When it is deemed appropriate, a lever on the winch can be transferred from the drawing position to a released position, and the tension in the cable can then be released by motion of the handle, or by free rotation of the cable winding drum. The cable may be wound on the drum for storage.